Christian Louboutin Designs Olympic Outfits for Team Cuba

He might be known for his stunning stilettoes, but Christian Louboutin ’s latest collection is sportier than usual. The luxury shoe designer has teamed up with French e-concept store SportyHenri.com to create the official outfits for the Cuban National Team heading to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

The elegant non-performance ensembles will be worn by the delegation of over 100 athletes at formal occasions, including the Closing Ceremony.

The pieces include a high-top trainer and the loafer style Naza Star for men, and a block kitten heel sandal for female athletes, the Naza Sandal. Sharply tailored jackets, in red for men and beige for women, feature the nation’s flag on the breast pocket and are contrasted with interchangeable trousers, shorts and skirts. The five-pointed star is used as emblem of luck displayed upon the back of each athlete’s jacket.

“At the Olympics, it feels like these athletes put on performance gear and simultaneously turn into these superheroes that defy gravity, that defy time, that defy all rules of physics,” explained former professional French handball player and founder of SportyHenri.com Henry Tai. “We designed the celebratory outfit for the moment they turn back into humans, still in that glory moment, still in their light but heading back to the real world.”

The collaboration was born when Louboutin travelled to Cuba to support Tai during a photoshoot for SportyHenri.com. They created the collection by working with the athletes themselves and consulting former Olympians.